The Distinguished Lecture Series

“My idea was to continue the intellectual and artistic stimulation that is so powerful during the summer months into the winter, so that we Berkshire residents can enjoy thinking, looking, and listening even in the winter months… The Distinguished Lecture Series is designed to cover the entire range of cultural endeavors – art, music, politics, science, history, literature – from a wide range of perspectives and experiences.” -Jeremy Yudkin

Professor Jeremy Yudkin of Lenox conceived the idea for the Distinguished Lecture Series in 2006. The lectures take place once a month, usually on the third Sunday of the month and are held at 4 pmon Sunday afternoons in the elegant and restful surroundings of the Sedgwick Reading Room. Sunday afternoon was chosen because it is a quiet time in most people’s weekends, the Library was not being utilized, and it allows time for audiences to attend the lectures and go home (or out) for dinner.

All lectures are free and open to the public thanks to the generosity of the speakers and donations from the public.

February 19 – “Lenox at 250, Session I.” Special panel discussion on the first half of Lenox’s history (1767-1880). Panel I to include Charles Flint and Lucy Kennedy (early history), Carole Owens (1750-1800), Bernard Drew (mid-19th century). Audience participation encouraged!

March 19 – “Lenox at 250, Session II.” Special panel discussion on the second half of Lenox’s history (1880-2016). Panel II to include Cornelia Gilder and Richard Jackson (The Gilded Age), David Roche (1940-1970), Olga Weiss (The Music Inn). Audience participation encouraged!

April 23 – Lenox Library Director Amy Lafave on the newly published book Images of America: Lenox.

Past Season 2014-15

September 21, 2014. Hugh Hardy, Architect and author of Theater of Architecture, speaking on, “Who Is Architecture For, and What Does It Do?”

October 19, 2014. Cindy Dickinson, Director of Interpretation and Programming at the Emily Dickinson Museum, speaking on, “‘The Brain is wider than the Sky’: Emily Dickinson in Her Nineteenth-Century World”

Past Season 2013-14

October 20, 2013. The Reverend Michael Tuck, Rector, Trinity Church, Lenox, on “George Washington’s Church: Revolution and the Founding of the American Episcopal Church.”

November 17, 2013. Tom Werman, former assistant to the Director of Artists and Repertoire at Epic Records, on “The Glory Days of the Rock ’n’ Roll Business: An Insider’s Perspective.”

December 15, 2013. David L. Glass, Attorney-at-Law, on “The Beatles Weren’t Really So Great! (Or Were They . . .?).”

January 19, 2014. Michelle Gillett, author, columnist, and poet, on “The State of Contemporary Poetry.”

February 16, 2014. Jay M. Pasachoff, Professor of Astronomy, Director of The Hopkins Observatory, Williams College, on “Transits of Venus.”

March 23, 2014. David Roche, Chairman of the Lenox Board of Selectmen; Smitty Pignatelli, Massachusetts State Representative; Benjamin Downing, Massachusetts State Senator, on “Local Government: Making the System Work for You.”

April 27, 2014. Tony Simotes, Artistic Director, Shakespeare and Company, on “Shakespeare’s Physical Text – The Language of Comedy and Violence on Stage.”

February 26, 2012. Michael Conforti, Director of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. “The Clark: 21st– Century Challenges to its Dual Mission as an Art Museum and as a Center for Research and Higher Education.”

Past Season 2008-2009

In the second season, 2008-2009, the number of lectures expanded to seven, and the season ran from September to April. Starting in the second season, a gift was made by Lynn Sutton of The Barefoot Gardener and Mary Nash of Mary Nash Consulting to sustain the lecture series and to allow it to offer free admission to all lectures. This led to a significant increase in attendance, with each lecture attracting between 50 and 75 members of the community.

February 10, 2008. ERNEST SHAW (sculptor), “What is the Role of Creativity in the Modern World?”

JEREMY YUDKIN is host and organizer of the Distinguished Lecture Series. He is a resident of the Berkshires and professor of music at Boston University and Oxford University. Every summer at the Lenox Library he presents the pre-concert lectures for the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood season.

All programs in the Distinguished Lecture Series are FREE and open to the public thanks to the generosity of the speakers, and donors like you.